LĒVO vs. Ardent
- Reviews
- Cannabutter Digest
Home bakers and edible enthusiasts often struggle to find a way to keep potency and flavor consistent. While edible enthusiasts have long accomplished this process in their ovens or on their stovetops, several machines have come on the market in recent years that make cannabis baking much easier and more efficient for the home cook. Two companies that have cornered this market are LĒVO and Ardent.
While these machines are similar in many ways, they have distinct features that consumers should consider before purchasing one. We’ll give you a complete rundown on both of these machines and highlight their unique differences, benefits, and disadvantages.
The Benefits of Home Infusion Machines
Infusion machines are devices that allow you to turn your favorite herbs into butters, oils, honeys, and other food products. Infusing these products at home typically requires putting your flower into a saucepan with the oil or butter over low heat for an extended period. This process often results in unwanted odors and extra cleanup time.
Additionally, before the infusion can happen, you need to decarboxylate, or “decarb,” the weed to make the TCH and CBD active. Otherwise, the infused product will not have the desired effect. This process usually involves putting the flower in the oven at a low temperature, which leads to unpleasant odors and more dirty dishes. Furthermore, as many edible enthusiasts have discovered, there is always the risk of accidentally burning the marijuana in the oven.
Fortunately, the machines from Ardent and LĒVO eliminate many of the hassles involved in the decarbing and infusion processes.
Using a home infusion device to make your own edibles, gummies, and medicinal infusions is simply, well, simpler! They can eliminate manual time and guesswork required from the traditional methods of decarbing and infusing, which is why these innovative machines have been taking the cannabis market by storm. With this said, many significant differences between LĒVO and Ardent’s machines can affect the end product’s quality. Let’s compare machines by taking a step-by-step look at the infusion process and how each device performs at every task.
The Decarbing Process
Unlike many other devices, the machines from both LĒVO and Ardent permit you to decarb your bud within the machine itself. With this said, there is a notable difference between this process of each device. LĒVO allows for complete control over the time and temperature at which the activation occurs. This is important because different cannabinoids require different temperatures to activate, and elevation or room temperature can impact decarb, too
The Ardent decarboxylator machines are limited in this respect. The Ardent Nova has only one pre-set activation temperature for making your Ardent Nova infusion; while the Ardent FX has two settings: one for THC and one for CBD. You aren’t told how hot they get or how long the cycles last, so you’re left guessing when you’ll even be ready to infuse. LĒVO’s custom temperature controls allow you a lot more flexibility when deciding which specific cannabinoid you would like to extract and you can plan for your next infusion step.
Another element that separates LĒVO’s machines from Ardent’s is that all three LĒVO machines lock both the heat and the odor of your cannabis within the device. Ardent’s machines often struggle to stay sealed entirely, which releases heat, wastes energy and time, and allows unwanted smells to escape into the air.
The Infusion Process
Once your weed is decarbed, you are ready to infuse the oil or butter. Both LĒVO and Ardent machines do not contain blades that many other devices on the market employ in their infusion cycles. The problem with blade technology when it comes to infusion is that it pulverizes the flower into your oil or butter while causing aeration that reduces the infusion’s overall shelf life.
That said, LĒVO’s machines outshine Ardent’s in the cannabis infusion process. The LĒVO machines use a gentle stirring method as your weed steeps, allowing for an even distribution of the plant’s cannabinoids. When the infusion is complete, it is dispensed into a container of your choice. There is no need for hand straining.
Ardent’s cannabis infusion process does not involve any agitation whatsoever, which can lead to an uneven distribution of the cannabinoids in the end product. Depending on the model you are using, you may also need to buy Ardent accessories, including a unique silicone sleeve for infusing.
Furthermore, the straining process is not at all straightforward with Ardent. You will have to purchase a separate funnel to strain the butter, and cheesecloth to go on top of the funnel. This not only adds to the overall cost of the device but hand straining means that you will also have to contend with unwanted plant matter in your Ardent cannabutter or oil. This can lead to your edibles having the “grassy” flavor of chlorophyll. With LĒVO, the dispensing is literally as easy as pushing a button or pouring the infusion out. There is no straining required because the patented pods keep the plant matter separate the whole time. You’ll save time with LĒVO because you get to skip the straining step.
The Cleanup
The key components of both LĒVO’s and Ardent’s infusion machines are all dishwasher-safe, but the fact that LĒVO’s process is streamlined leads to a much simpler cleanup process. This is largely because the hand straining process can be incredibly messy and result in a lot of wasted butter. LĒVO outperforms the competition in this category as well.
The Cost
- Silicone sleeve for infusing – $25
- Straining funnel – $25
- Cheesecloth – $3-10
You will need to tack on at least an additional $60 to the cost of the Ardent machine when comparing the two brands. These additional costs, along with the extra clean-up time, make the Ardent machine a less cost-effective product than the LĒVO machines, which do not require you to purchase additional tools or spend a significant amount of time on cleanup.
The Verdict
At every step of the infusion-process, LĒVO beats Ardent in efficiency, quality, and cleanup. The LĒVO machines make decarbing, infusing, and straining a breeze compared to the Ardent machine. Plus, the LĒVO machines allow users to control the activation temperatures, eliminate unwanted odors, and strain and dispense the infusions without mess. LĒVO has everything you need for a hassle-free infusion process. What’s more, the LĒVO II, the LĒVO C, and the LĒVO Lux all give you a delicious end product with optimal potency that will keep you baking happily for a long time.
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